I know this one has taken forever. But I hope you're still reading and I hope you enjoy. This one is filled will all sorts of romance for both our couples. Reviews are appreciated.

Without Hate – Chapter 19

Neither Sonny nor Carly heard Alexis come in. Sonny wondered if Alexis had heard Carly's mandate that he get Alexis into bed as soon as possible. His fears were assuaged as soon as he heard Alexis say, "Five days isn't a lot of time to do what?"

"To take a couples' trip to Puerto Rico," Carly said, too quickly, "just the four of us."

"Sounds like fun." Alexis couldn't imagine anything she wanted to do more than enjoy a little R and R in the fun and the sun with Sonny.

"Tomorrow," Carly said, without batting an eye.

Alexis crinkled her nose, "That seems kind of sudden. What's the rush?"

Sonny stared at Carly in disbelief. He was simply amazed at how quickly she could fabricate a story. And while admittedly he'd been tolerating her better lately, the thought of spending five days in her continual presence seemed more like a nightmare than a dream. Besides, he didn't need Carly's help to put the moves on Alexis. If all he wanted was to get her in bed, he was certain he could have done that already. He wanted Alexis to know how much he cared for her and that he wanted to be more in her life than just a fling. "Look 'Lexis, if you can't make it on such short notice, I understand."

Alexis tapped her finger against her mouth as she ran over her commitments in her mind. "Actually, I think I can manage it. I don't have any court appearances this week and I can bring anything pressing with me."

"See, it's going to be perfect." Carly smiled. Her plan was going to work…for once.

Sonny and Alexis made their excuses and left for the ballet. In the limo, Sonny took Alexis's hand in his own and kissed it. She moved their hands to her cheek and closed her eyes. "So, tell me how you came to like the ballet."

"My mother loved the ballet. About six months before she died, I took her to see Romeo and Juliet. I was working for Scully by then. So, I bought her a new dress and she had her makeup done. When we got there, she said she felt as pretty as all of the fancy high-society ladies." He stroked the soft hair that lay at the back of Alexis's neck. "I bet she never dreamed I'd have a woman like you."

Alexis felt herself blush. She looked up and faced his stare. "You do have me. You know that right?"

He placed a tender kiss on her mouth.

About an hour after Sonny and Alexis left, Carly took Michael across the hall. She was so excited whenever the three of them had the opportunity to have dinner, like a real family.

She smiled when she saw Jason in his tight jeans and t-shirt. He crossed the room and greeted her with a kiss, which was still enough to give her goose bumps.

She smacked his butt, "Hiya, hot stuff."

All Jason could do was smile. She was his best friend and she was totally outrageous, but he loved her. Michael scrambled for him, which brought a twinkle to his eyes.

Carly noticed the lighting and the romantic setting of the dining room table. "Ooh, are we having a romantic dinner?"

He took her in. She wore tight jeans, a tight sweater "Yeah, we could have many more of them if we got our own place together."

"I'm working on it, baby." She placed Michael in the high chair that sat next to the dining table.

"How? You won't even consider looking at another place." Jason was slightly frustrated. He, Carly and Michael were still living like neighbors, instead of like the family they were meant to be.

"I don't have to. Alexis is going to move in here and you can move back in across the hall with me and Michael."

"Oh yeah?" Jason smiled. Carly was nothing if not determined. He thought to lecture her on her promise regarding no plans when it came to Sonny and Alexis; instead, he decided to leave it for another night. "When do you think that's going to happen?"

"Well, the four of us are going on a couples' vacation the day after tomorrow. After that, it's just a matter of time."

"Do you think it'll happen before we get married?"

She turned to see Jason down on one knee. "Jase, what are you?" Her mind kept telling her that this could not be happening. Sure, she knew Jason loved her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she actually trusted it. She watched as he pulled a ring box from his inside pocket. He popped it open to reveal a very large diamond.

"Carly, will you marry me?"

For a moment she stood stunned. "Are you sure you want to marry me, Jase. Because A.J. dropped the charges and I promise I won't let him stop you from raising Michael. So, if this is some kind of joke…"

"I don't joke," Jason deadpanned, "you know that." He continued to hold the ring box in his hand; his arm remained extended. Carly remained still. She looked like a deer in headlights.

Carly allowed the tears that she rarely allowed to see the light of day begin to fall. "You know I'm a screw-up. And you know I make you crazy. So, you better not change your mind because if you do…"

"I'm not going to change my mind. Now will you give me your hand before my arm falls off?" He smiled. Her hand shook as she moved it toward him. He slipped the obnoxiously large diamond on her finger. She smiled broadly at the ring. True, it was a little gaudy, larger than he would have chosen for someone else, but he knew how much she'd love parading it around town, especially in front of the Quartermaines.

"Jase, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my whole life." She couldn't help staring at it.

"So, the answer is yes?"

"Yes. Yes. Yes," she screamed and tackled Jason to the ground.

At the No Name, Sonny and Alexis held hands across the table. Sonny stared at Alexis intensely and she found herself blushing under his gaze.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, unable to meet his gaze.

"Because you're beautiful."

Alexis blushed even more than she had been blushing previously. "Sonny, you don't have to flatter me."

He looked at her with slight amazement then he placed a finger under her chin and lifted it until her eyes met his. "You really don't get that you're the total package? You're smart, beautiful and funny. Yeah, you get a little crazy sometimes, but that's your charm. There's only one thing…"

Alexis's back stiffened, "Oh, what's this one thing?"

"I want to make us official; I want people to know about us." Sonny wasn't exactly sure why he'd started down this road. Maybe it was because Jax was coming back to town and he wanted to mark his turf before Jax did.

"People know about us." Alexis crinkled her nose as she tried to think just who those people were. Her eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind. "Jason and Carly know about us…and Luke…and anyone who comes to the No Name knows about us."

"Yes, everyone in my world knows about us, but does anyone in your world other than Stefan and Ned?"

She pulled her hand from his. "Who else is there?"

Sonny drummed his fingers against the table. "The people you work with…your nephew…oh yeah, your ex? You ashamed of me, Miss Davis?" He smiled; it was a thinly veiled attempt to try to hide his insecurity.

Alexis felt a sharp pain to her heart. As the bastard daughter of Mikkos Cassadine, she'd known what it was like to be someone's secret. She'd never meant to cause someone she cared about that kind of pain. "Sonny, I haven't been avoiding telling Jax about you. I've been avoiding Jax. As for being ashamed of you, how could I be ashamed of you? I'm a Cassadine. You think you're dangerous? My father tried to invent a machine to freeze the world. Do you know how insane that is?"

Sonny titled his head to the side as he tried to wrap his mind around what Alexis was saying. "He tried to freeze…"

"Yes," she cut him off, "he wanted the power to freeze the whole world. You wouldn't ever try to freeze the whole world would you, Corinthos?" She chuckled to herself.

"Eh, maybe an associate or any of the Quartermaines with the exception of Lila and Emily." He chuckled at his own thought, "Would have loved to have frozen Candyboy…before he fathered your baby, of course, but the whole world? Nah." He punctuated his sentence with the deepest set of dimples she'd ever seen.

Their dinner arrived and he watched in amazement as Alexis savored every single morsel. For a moment, Sonny felt very privileged to be one of the few people who knew this side of her, the relaxed, carefree Alexis. This Alexis she kept buried very deeply, safely hidden from those she didn't trust.

The ballet was magical and Alexis was amazed to see how much Sonny was moved by it. In the limousine, on the way home, she noticed a wistful look in his eyes and she brushed his cheek. "What are you thinking about?"

"My mom. She would have loved this performance and I think she would have loved you, too." Alexis placed a soft kiss on his chin and then nuzzled her head back into his neck. For a few seconds, he listened to the sound of her breathing. "I know I do."

The silence bounced off the walls of the limousine as Alexis mind played catch up with Sonny's words. Then, suddenly, she sat up. "Are you saying you love me?"

He smiled then kissed her. "And if I am, what do you have to say about that?"

She smiled and said sweetly, "To you, nothing." She lowered the window that separated her and Sonny from Johnny, who was driving and said, "Johnny, Sonny and I would like to make a detour."

Johnny looked in the rearview mirror and waited for an approving glance from his boss. Once given, he asked, "Where to Miss Davis?"

"The Port Charles hotel…and Johnny, once we're there, you don't have to worry about coming back until the morning." She loosened Sonny's collar and placed a kiss on his neck, the first of many more to come. "I guess I'm going to have to spend the rest of the night showing you how I feel about you loving me. What do you have to say about that?"

With a mischievous smile, he called out to his driver, "Step on it, Johnny."